Very good of Graham Turnock, CEO of the UK Space Agency to highlight the role of Seraphim in helping to attract the best international SpaceTech start-ups to the UK.

As the world's only SpaceTech focused venture fund, we at Seraphim are fortunate to get to engage with some of the leading entrepreneurs from around the world that are trying to use satellites and drones to change the world for the better. Since we launched Seraphim Space just over a year ago, we've really been struck by the level of interest from the world's brightest future SpaceTech stars in coming to the UK to supercharge their businesses.

The UK's deep space sector heritage is a factor in this, most especially given the presence of early pioneers of the 'New Space' revolution such as SSTL and Clyde Space. There is equally real recognition of the benefit of being part of the SpaceTech clusters that have emerged in places like Harwell and Glasgow. Few other places around the globe can match such concentrations of SpaceTech start-ups.

Many of these entrepreneurs - irrespective of the sceptre of Brexit - view the UK as a natural beach-head into Europe, and one from which - with the support of the likes of the UK Space Agency, the Satellite Catapult (not to mention Seraphim...) - they can look to expand both their commercial footprint but also their technical acumen. Seraphim portfolio company Spire is a great example of this having built up all of its in-house nanosat manufacturing capabilities in Glasgow.

At Seraphim we're hoping to help others follow in Spire's footsteps with the firm belief that the next few years will see the emergence of a new generation of category-defining space companies with $billion potential that will use the UK as a springboard to achieving their global ambitions.

So amongst all the Brexit-induced gloom the UK's SpaceTech ecosystem remains an all-too-rare good news story.

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“It’s also crucial that we foster a private investment market,” he adds, highlighting the November 2016 launch of Seraphim Capital. This £80m space-tech venture fund, incorporating £30m from the British Business Bank, will focus on early-stage businesses.
“It’s the largest of its kind and it’s looking to fund and attract the best new space companies working in downstream applications to the UK. It’s very exciting.”